Margot Robbie’s nutritionist reveals the formula to weight loss

Counting calories is a weight-loss plan as old as time - but it can be a frustrating and lengthy process that doesn't always guarantee results.

Well die-hard dieters have reason to celebrate because a Hollywood nutritionist has just revealed her winning weight-loss formula... and it even involves having a heart-to-heart with a friend.

A Columbia university graduate and celebrated celebrity nutritionist, Dana James has said that the key to weight loss is "not just food and exercise."

While describing the "presiding weight loss equation of 'calories in, calories out'" as "woefully inadequate", Margot Robbie's trusted nutritionist said that there may be some "unexpected" reasons you can't shake those final kilos.

Margot Robbie shows off her party trick to Chris Pratt0:30

Margot Robbie shows off her party trick to Chris Pratt on Jimmy Kimmel. Credit: YouTube/Jimmy Kimmel Live

Namely, that "unexpressed emotions" can lie at the heart of people's weight issues because "if emotions are stuck inside you, the weight can also stay stuck."

In her weight loss article for MindBodyGreen, Dana wrote that this "intriguing" weight loss tip is "often ignored because emotions can't be measured."

Nonetheless, the author of The Archetype Diet wrote that "when my clients unexpectedly gain weight, the first question I ask them is, 'is there anything you're not expressing?'"

Whether the struggling dieter keeps returning to "an argument with a partner, a tense relationship with their mother, or something shameful from their youth", the celebrity nutritionist recommended that they "let it out on paper or speak to a friend or therapist."

After all, comfort eating has long been linked to weight gain and Dana referenced a recent study that found 75 per cent of obese patients awaiting a gastric band had experienced some form of childhood trauma.

While this could be anything from emotional neglect to parents divorcing, Dana wrote that "if something has upset you, don't swallow it."

Alongside this, Dana also said that those hoping to lose weight make sure they get enough sleep, consume probiotics to resolve gut microbiome imbalances, and avoid inflammatory foods such as gluten and dairy.